A Not So Magical Fairy Tale
by ZanyZoom
Summary: After a tragedy strikes, high school teacher and archaeologist Nico Robin is left with no other choice but to live in a giant castle in the middle of the woods, along with a bunch of colorful magical creatures she never imagined existed. The only problem is that the cause of the tragedy is also there, and he seems to be feeling more than just guilt towards her.
1. Chapter 1

The first words used to describe Nico Robin would usually be along the lines of beautiful, incredibly attractive, impossibly gorgeous, breathtaking and sexy as hell. Comments like 'Are you a model?' or 'Would you be interested in an acting career?' became background noise for her a long time ago. Along with the surprised expressions she got every time she answered what her profession truly was. Because while men, and sometimes women, tended to look at her with disclosed desire in their eyes, Robin only had eyes for ancient texts and archaeological artifacts.

Her ernest, honest love for history and her desire to spread knowledge are what brought her to her current position of sitting a piece of wood with a thin blanket over her shoulders and a book in her lap as she observed the second year students of the high school she was teaching at as they chatted around the campfire with a faint smile on her lips.

Sensing the additional presence of someone next to her, she turned he head to see Trafalgar Law, the biology teacher sitting next to her, two cups of coffee in his hands. She took one gratefully and looked up at the sky.

"It's a beautiful night isn't it?" she asked with a smile. Law looked up for a moment and nodded. "Hey, Nico-ya?"

"Mmm? What is is?"

"Do you believe in legends?" The question surprised her, and she tore her gaze from the starry sky to look at him, his own eyes glued to the bright, full, moon. "Not particularly, why?"

"It's a full moon tonight"

"And?"

"According to the legend, werewolfs transform when it's a full moon". Realizing his point she couldn't help but let out a feminine chuckle.

Turning his head towards her, he gave her a somewhat cold stare. "You don't believe me." His tone was cold and accusing, like his eyes, and it actually made her feel a little guilty. "I'm sorry, Trao-kun. I'm just surprised that someone like you would believe in such things"

He stiffened a little at the nickname, the cold in his eyes melting into something else. "I don't. But we are in the middle of the woods in a full moon night babysitting a bunch of kids. So why not have some fun with that, y'know?"

"Are you planning on pranking the children, Trao-kun?"

Her voice had a playful tone to it now, But law apparently interpreted it as flirtatious . "No, but in case we do get attacked, I'll be here to protect you" he said huskily, almost in a whisper.

He was also much closer to her now, leaning towards her.

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, someone else saved her the trouble of politely pushing him away.

An ear piercing screech reached their ears as they both turned their heads sharply just in time to see a hairy figure lashing out at the female student who screamed, it's teeth sinking into her throat.

Chaos erupted around them as students started screaming and running in every direction, trying to create as much distance as possible between them and the beast. The plan seemed to backfire at then though as the beast jumped in sort of a frenzy all over the place, attacking however it could reach.

Law pushed himself up from the wooden bench, pulling her with him before letting go of her and charging towards where the beast was tearing through the flesh of students unfortunate enough to cross it's path. Law took an army knife out of his belt and yelled at her over his shoulder. "Nico-ya! Take as many of the kids as you can and get the hell out of here! And whatever you do don't look back!"

His voice snapped her out of the shock she was in and she reluctantly started running in some random direction, shouting for the students to follow her. Around her she could hear some of the other teachers doing the same thing, while the screams of some others who have joined law in an attempt to kill the beast reached her ears.

They managed to get pretty deep into the forest when the screams restarted, but this time they were much closer. Robin had about a second to register to meaning of the situation when she felt something tackle her from behind. Sharp, pointy teeth sank into her shoulder as she hit the ground with her own scream of pain.

Somehow, she managed to gather enough force to turn her head, finding herself nose to nose with a gigantic gray wolf, it's black, piercing eyes staring right into her own sapphire ones before she felt it's sharp claws sinking into the flesh of her waist.

The world turned black around her, but not before she heard something that sounded faintly like gunshots.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing she notices when she regained consciousness was the dull pain in her waist and shoulder. The second thing she noticed was the unfamiliar voices talking, or rather arguing, around her.

"-Wouldn't have happened! So take some responsibility why don't you?!" Yelled a male voice.

"I don't see how this is my fault that the jackass's as stubborn as a brick! Stupid like one too!" Yelled another one. Raspier than the first, a chainsmoker's voice she absorbed.

"That's exactly why we take turns every month! To keep an eye on him! Gah! Why does this always happen when it's your turn Sanji?!" Yelled the first one again.

"That's because-"

"WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THE REASON" Yelled a new voice, a female this time, and then the sound of what sounded like something smashing against a skull was heard a few times.

"Nami's got a SUPER point you two, it's already happened, so there's no point in tossing the blame. Our guest's awake by the way". A third male voice, deeper than the other two said. The room fell into silence at his words, and Robin could feel what was probably more than five pairs of eyes staring at her.

She heard footsteps coming in her direction before she felt something hard touching her arm. "Can you hear me? are you able to open your eyes?" A fifth, boyish voice asked.

Slowly opening her eyes, she had to blink a few times to realize that it was a Tanuki looking thing talking to her, and that the hard something she felt on her arm was an antler.

Wait, an antler? A tanuki isn't supposed to have an antler, or talk for that matter!

Looking past the tanuki, she could see a brick celling with a giant chandelier hanging from it. "Where… Am I?" She asked. Her voice was a little hoarse and her throat felt a bit sore.

She watched in slight awe as the Tanuki's features visibly lit up, A huge, almost sinfully adorable smile on his face. "Oh thank goodness! Tell me, do you feel any pain? Can you feel your limbs? Wait! Don't try to sit up yet!"

Despite the Tanuki's protests, Robin was able to push herself up using her right forearm while being mindful of her injured left shoulder. Looking around, she realized she was in an infirmary of some sort, but that was not what grabbed her attention. Excluding the Tanuki, who in all honesty probably wasn't a Tanuki in the slightest, she was met with six very curious pairs of eyes. Actually no, that wasn't true, there were only five pairs of eyes, the sixth one was, well…

Not many things surprised Robin, and even if they did, she was usually extremely good at hiding her shock. Then again, she never saw an almost three meter skeleton with an afro before, who seemed to be very much alive too.

"Yohohohohoho! It's great to see you're awake miss! If you don't mind, May I please see your panties?"

Before she had a chance to react, or even register the question really, the skeleton was kicked by a blonde guy with a strange, swirly eyebrow, and an orange haired woman, who by the looks of it was younger than Robin, but almost just as curvy.

"DON'T YOU DARE ASK SUCH A BEAUTIFUL LADY SUCH A QUESTION, YOU SHITTY SKELETON!" Yelled the blonde man, who Robin recognized as the chainsmoker. He turned to her, his whole demeanor shifting completely.

"Such a lovely sight has appeared before me! tell me, what's your name? I am Sanji, your humble servant of love" Robin blinked, not knowing how she was supposed to react until she realized he was asking for her name.

"Nico Robin"

"Robin-chwan! A mature, beautiful name for a mature, beautiful woman!" He started doing some sort of dance that resembled a noodle until the orange haired woman hit him over the head, effectively silencing him before turning to Robin. "Ignore the idiot, he's like that with every woman he meets. I'm Nami by the way, nice you meet you!"

She offered her hand, and Robin shook it, albeit somewhat hesitantly. "Nami-san, would you please mind explaining what is going on here? I am grateful to you all for saving my life, but I'm afraid I'm a bit out of the loop. Who are you people? And what happened to the people who were with me?"

"They either ran away, or they're dead" said a new voice. Alarmed, Robin turned her head to the bed next to her, facing the man who occupied it.

The first thing she noticed was his shocking green hair, which other than the color wasn't all that special. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and she could make out the outlines of his muscular and scared torso beneath the bandages tightly wrapped around his chest, something that made her slightly conscious of her own bandaged body. But what grabbed her attention the most was his eyes, or eye rather. His right eye dark and piercing, while his left one was tightly shut, a scar running down it, just like…

"Don't say that so casually, you Marimo fuck! This is all your fault you know!" Yelled Sanji, who looked just about ready to kick 'Marimo's' face in, while the latter just ignored him. He got of the bed and stared walking towards the door ignoring the Tanuki's furious cries and Sanji's death threads.

Before he got out of the room though, he turned around to look at them and asked "Oi, what did you do with my swords?"

"They're in your room asshole, you should be grateful we even bothered bringing them here" Nami shot back, giving his back a glare as he left the room.

"Nami-san, was that-"

"-Yeah, that's the thing that attacked you people, also known as Roronoa Zoro, top tier asshole and a werewolf. You may have noticed it already, but the rest of us aren't exactly normal either."


	3. Chapter 3

Zoro slammed the heavy oak door to his room shut, taking some pent up frustration out on the innocent door. His three precious swords were lying on his bed as promised. He took them off his bed, leaning each of them against the wall before collapsing on the bed himself.

He hated when it happened. Every goddamn month he would repeat the same stupid mistake of somehow getting exposed to moonlight on the night of the full moon and going berserk until Usopp shot him and he passed out, waking up as himself again on the bed in the infirmary waiting for his hazy memories to clear up so he could face the shame of his actions.

This time was worse though, way worse. He could deal with Sanji and Nami's bitching, or Usopp lectures or Brook's sympathetic looks because he knew he had nothing to beat himself up over. He made a mess in the woods and that was it, no big deal. This time though, he killed people, and a lot of them. Not that he had a problem with killing, he was aiming to be the greatest swordsman in the world after all, but killing a bunch of innocent bystanders just left a bad taste in his mouth.

Honestly speaking though, he felt incredibly guilty, and having the woman who was potentially the sole survivor of his assault be the first thing he saw when he woke up definitely wasn't helping.

Of course, there was another problem regarding the woman that he refused to acknowledge, and that was the fact that under any other circumstances, he really wouldn't have minded having her be the first thing he sees when he wakes up. And that was bad, bad bad bad. As much as he hated being one, he was still a werewolf, which meant that his instincts and impulses were very much those of a wolf. Usually that was a good thing, having the instincts of a wolf was certainly beneficial in battle, but it also meant that he had the same mating impulses a wolf would have. And as a 'young, healthy, male adult' as Sanji put it, his hormones were all over the place as it was, and having what seemed like a hot older woman around was really, really, really bad.

Then again, maybe she'll just go after Chopper finishes up with he treatment.

Yeah right.

—

Robin sat on her bed in the infirmary, her head in her hands while she massaged her temples with her thumbs.

"So, just to make sure I got everything right: You eight are a bunch of supernatural creatures who are forced to hide in an old castle in the middle of a giant forest because you can't fit in with society, my colleagues and students either got killed by your werewolf friend or managed to escape, and you want me, the potential sole survivor, to stay here under your supervision for at least a month because he bit me and you want to make sure I won't turn into a werewolf and start attacking people the next time there's a full moon. Is that everything?"

"That about covers it up" said the goblin-Franky, she reminded herself- "One thing though. It's not that we want you you stay here, you are staying here, wether you want it or not. Don't misunderstand us, we're not kidnapping you, this is just us cleaning after our own mess."

"It's okay, I understand."

"You do?" asked Nami, a somewhat confused expression on her face.

"Of Course. There would no point in isolating yourselves if I would go around attacking innocent civilians. Besides, I don't have any relatives, or even someone who would notice my absence, the school probably already wrote me off as one of the people who got killed as well."

"That's… Kind of sad isn't it?" asked Chopper, who, as it turned out, isn't a Tanuki at all, but a shapeshifter.

"Maybe a little, but I'm used to it. Thank you for your concern though, you are much too sweet"

"Calling me sweet doesn't make me happy you jerk!" he half said, half sang while doing a little happy dance. Robin was tempted to ask him to make sure that her heart didn't melt.

"Yohohoho, Robin-san is going to fit right in!" said brook to no one in particular.

"Hey Brook! How about you sing us a song in honor of our new nakama?!" said Luffy, the self proclaimed 'King of the Castle' who seemed to have the strange ability to stretch is body in whatever way he wanted, and was known simply as a 'demon' by their group of friends. While he didn't seem to have much authority, Robin was quick to figure out that he was the group leader, and was able to recognize the deep respect and admiration his friends had for him, the six she actually met anyway.

Slightly against her will, her thoughts were pulled back to Zoro, who hasn't bothered to come back since he woke up. Nami told her that is expected an apology, she should probably forget about it and fast. Robin had assured her that she was not expecting an apology, but she couldn't deny she was extremely curious regarding the werewolf. She was a scholar after all, she was always thirsty for as much knowledge as she could get her hands on, a hunger that could never be satisfied. And with this strange new world that has opened up to her, she was eager to learn as much as she possibly could about her strange new housemates.

—

*Knock knock*

"I'm coming in Marimo!"

Sanji. The fuck did he want from him now? He probably just wanted him to apologize to the woman about killing the kids. Not gonna happen. Apologizing would only make the guilt worse. Besides, he really didn't feel like talking to her.

Feeling the bed shift, he lifted his head from his pillow only to confirm that it was indeed Sanji sitting on his bed. It was.

"Luffy asked me to tell you that we're going to throw a party in Robin-chan's honor, attendance is a must."

"Don't feel like it."

"Too fucking bad shithead. Captain's orders, and as his right hand you should set an example."

'Fuck off."

"Even if I do, he'll come to get you himself, so it's either me or him, pick your poison."

"Let's go."

"Thought so."


	4. Chapter 4

Standing at in the corner of the dining hall with his bottle of sake, Zoro watched their guest with a frown. He knew he was just being childish, he had no reason whatsoever to be as mad at her as he was. She hasn't done anything wrong, he was the one who murdered dozens of her students and co-workers, yet he acted like it was the other way around. Even worse, she was trying to be nice to him, smiling at him and waving politely when he came in with Sanji earlier. What the hell was wrong with her?

She was currently talking to Usopp and Chopper, giggling behind her hand at whatever Usopp was telling her. He had to admit that she fitted in perfectly.

She lifted her gaze from the longed nose centaur and looked in his direction, catching him staring. She gave him a charming smile before turning her attention back to Usopp. Why did she look at him? Was it because she could feel his eyes on her or was she trying to sneak a glance at him herself? And why did she smile at him? Wasn't she supposed to be mad and resentful? Was she trying to seduce him so she could kill him in his sleep? That was probably it. That would also explain why she borrowed Nami's clothes that seemed a size too small for her, especially around the chest. Not that he was Staring at her chest, definitely not.

Shit.

He knew he was being unreasonable. She wasn't wearing Nami's clothes to seduce him, she was wearing Nami's clothes because he ruined hers during the attack. Nor was she being seductive on purpose, she was smiling and being nice because she would be spending at least the next month with them and she was trying to get rid of the awkward tension.

He was reading all her actions as sexual because he couldn't stop thinking about her that way, it wasn't her fault that he was a sexually frustrated guy with the libido of an animal. it wasn't his fault either though, since the only female company he had for the last few years was Nami, who was really more like his sister than anything else, and the thought of doing anything sexual with her almost made him throw up.

Not that he was the type of guy who would go all gaga over a woman just because she's female, he wasn't like the stupid love-cook or brook.

Usually, the idea of having a one night stand stand with someone just to satisfy his sexual needs disgusted him. He preferred to get to know a person before he got into bed with them. So what was it about this woman that made him want to jump her? Sure, she was attractive, gorgeous even, but was that really it?

"Kenshi-san?" He nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. When did she get behind him?

"What do you want?" He grunted out, a hint of hostility in his voice. Turning around to look at her, he realized now that she was a few centimeters taller than him, much to his annoyance.

"Nothing in particular. You seemed lonely standing here all by yourself, so I thought you could use the company." She gave him another warm smile, and Zoro could feel his ears turning slightly red, whether it was because of her smile or close proximity, he wasn't sure.

"I'm fine. What's up with the nickname?"

"Nami told me you're a swordsman, so it seemed fitting." Her voice had a melancholic undertone to it, and Zoro got the feeling she was trying to avoid something. Of course, it's not like they actually had a conversation up until now, not to mention the only real interaction they had was basically him trying to kill her. Speaking of which, now was probably as good a time as any to clear the air between them regarding this particular subject matter.

His black eye met her mesmerizing blue ones and he asked with a stern voice "Why aren't you afraid of me, or hate me, or something? I killed your students, and co-workers, and almost killed you. Don't you think that you're acting a little familiar around me?"

Returning his gaze with equal seriousness, she answered calmly "I've heard everything from Luffy and the others. I know the circumstances of your situation. What happened wasn't your fault, you had no control over your actions. What's done is done, I don't blame you."

Zoro stared at her in shock. Was there something wrong with her head? In control or not, he still murdered people she knew, innocent people. Any person in their right mind should be the least bit resentful, or at least hold a grudge. But she seemed to do neither, was she a sociopath or something?

Of course, there was another possibility. The possibility that death was nothing new to her, and that she turned numb to it. Looking into her eyes, it made sense. There was deep rooted sadness hidden behind all the blue, and he couldn't help but wonder what happened to her to bring her to this point.

"Kenshi-san?" Her voice snapped him out of the trance he was in, pulling him out of the depths of her eyes back to reality.

"Sorry. Were you saying something?"

"You became so quiet I was wondering if you fell asleep." She giggled, and Zoro could feel his entire face burning up. What in the world was she doing to him?! First she made him feel guilty without even talking to him, then she seduced him without even trying, and now she's making him blush! The fuck was wrong with him?!

Turning away from her, he grunted out some impossible to understand response and started heading towards the door. The party was held in the dining hall, which was supposed to be in the middle of the castle's first floor, the bedrooms were on the second, or something like that. Now he just had to find the bloody staircase that kept changing places all the time.

As he walked down the candlelit hallway, he removed a little the heavy curtain that covered of the windows and looked outside. The sun was just starting to rise, which meant it was about 6am in the morning. It was about 8pm when the sun set yesterday, meaning it's been around ten hours since he went berserk. Replacing the curtain, he made sure no light could get through before continuing his quest of finding the staircase.

If it was up to him, the curtains wouldn't even be there, but Luffy insisted, because 'otherwise Sanji would melt!' Tch! Like he cared what happened to that good for nothing vampire.

He turned a few corners until he found himself face to face with the dining hall's double doors. Damn it. Now the rooms started switching places too, not just the stairs. That damned Nami, was she doing this to mess with him or something? That sounds just like her actually, switching around the rooms so she could lead him back to his room for a price. He always knew she was able to do more than just weather magic like she insisted.

"Are you lost, Kenshi-san?" Speaking of damned women, Nico Robin was leaning against the wall to his left, giving him a somewhat smug smile. That was the second time she managed to sneak up on him, how the hell did he miss her? Was she really a teacher? With her skills, she was more like a ninja, or, more than likely now that he thought about it, an assassin.

"Tch! Don't be stupid woman! That damn witch just switched up the rooms again is all." Crap, was he blushing again?! His ears certainly felt warmer.

She chuckled, and before Zoro had time to register what was going on, she grabbed his arm and started leading him in some random direction. Linking their arms she navigated through the castle halls with infuriating ease, dragging Zoro behind her. How could she be so confident?! She's only been there for ten hours, and was out of commission for at least three, yet she acted like she lived there all her life. Was she a witch too?! Was she the one who switched the rooms around?

They reached the staircase and Zoro had to muster all his willpower just to make sure his eye didn't wander to her backside as he climbed the stairs, a few steps behind her. Why did she have to wear Nami's tight shortie shorts of all things?! Reaching the second floor, he broke free of her grasp and headed towards his room, which luckily was just in front of the staircase and didn't seem to have been moved.

He was about to enter his room when he realized she followed him. "What?"

"My room is the one next to yours, so if you need to go somewhere just let-" He pinned her to the wall before she had time to finish the sentence. Arms on either side of her head, he tried to look as threatening as possible while looking up at her.

"Stay away from me" he said slowly, "For both of our sakes." He entered his room and slammed the door behind him, leaving her slightly stunned, still against the wall.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you to the people who reviewed!**

* * *

Robin was quick to learn that even though Luffy was the so called 'captain' and leader in the castle, the one who ran the show was most definitely Nami. Bossy by nature, she was the one who made sure things in the castle were running along smoothly, as in, making sure it was still in one piece.

Three days after Robin begun her stay in the castle, also known as the Thousand Sunny, Nami decided that they were going to have a cleaning day. She called them for a 'post breakfast assembly', assigning each of them with a room to clean, not including their private ones, and forbidden them from leaving it until the room was spotless, otherwise their debts would increase in 60%. Robin found it hilarious that a bunch of magical creatures living in a castle in the middle of a forest had a financial debt, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

She herself was assigned to clean the library along with Nami, much to her delight. The Thousand Sunny had in incredibly diverse library, and although there weren't many historical texts, Robin was more than happy to read whatever she managed to get her hands on.

"You really love books don't you?" asked Nami, taking in the way Robin slowly and delicately flipped through the pages of the medical book she was supposed to be dusting. She nodded, her eyes glued to the old page."I guess you could say that. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away"

"Did I do something to make Kenshi-san hate me?" The question seemed to have caught Nami off guard. She stared at the older woman for a moment, going over the question in her head. "I don't think so, why? I haven't seen you two talk since he woke up three days ago. Did something happen?"

"Not exactly, we just had a… strange encounter."

"What happened? Did he do something?! I'm going to fucking kill him if he did!"

"There's no need for that. All he did was tell me to stay away from him and I wondering if you knew why."

"That's just Zoro being his usual jackass self. You don't need to take that personally. Although…"

"Although what?"

"Nothing. I may just have an idea to why he acts that way though."

"Which is?"

"Guilt"

"Guilt?" Did he still feel guilty, even after she said she forgave him? Like her, he didn't seem like someone who would be affected by death, so what was it?

"Yes, but not the kind of guilt you're thinking of. You know our circumstances right? How, besides me and sometimes Luffy, none of them can leave the castle?" Robin nodded, waiting for Nami to continue.

"They weren't always that way you know, Zoro, Sanji-kun and Franky have all turned after some sort of incident, Brook has been dead for the past fifty years, and as far as we know, Chopper used to be a normal reindeer. Only Usopp and I were born this way, nobody really knows what's up with Luffy though." Nodding again, Robin was quietly waiting for Nami to get to the point. "Anyway, before they were turned each of them had their dream, we all did, still do, but duo to the circumstances they're now stuck in this dusty old castle instead of going around the world fulfilling their dreams."

"They never actually talk about it, but the frustration is taking it's toll on them." There was an obvious 'me too' at the end of the sentence which Robin chose wisely to ignore. Nami paused for a moment before continuing. "My point is, that by biting you while he's in werewolf form, there's a chance that Zoro has turned you into one as well. If that's the case, than he did to you exactly what happened to him, meaning that you'll be stuck here for the rest of your life, just like us."

Nami concluded her story and looked up at Robin, who was taking in all the new information. "So basically, it's the same as when rapists develop a hatred for the raped? Because they represent the horrible act they committed?"

"As messed up as this comparison is, yes. But why do you care what Zoro thinks of you so much anyway?" asked Nami.

"Honestly, I'm not sure. I suppose I just want to be at the very least on good terms with everybody here since I'm going to be staying here."

"If that's the case then you really don't have to go out of your way for that jerk. Everyone else love the heck out of you already, so you really don't need to worry yourself over that."

"Understood. And thank you Nami, for everything."

"Sure thing, Onee-chan."

"Onee-chan?"

"I told you didn't I? We all love the heck out of you already."

* * *

"Stupid, freaking, Nami. Forcing us to clean like that."

"Don't you dare say anything bad about Nami-san you good for nothing swordsman. Why did I have to get stuck cleaning this stupid basement with you?!"

"Blame your precious Nami-san."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Zoro unsheathed his sword just in time to block Sanji's kick from hitting his face. It wasn't his fault the damn cook was delusional and refused to accept the fact that his beloved Nami-san wasn't the perfect goddess he saw her as.

Actually, that was true with any woman, not just Nami, including the damned woman who was currently in charge of cleaning the library with the aforementioned woman. Seriously?! Why couldn't anybody other than him see that the woman was clearly an evil witch plotting to kill them in their sleep and sell them in the black market?! She managed to convince everyone else with her act of a motherly, kind hearted woman, successfully warming her way into their hearts in less than twenty four hours. They all fell for her charms like the weak minded fools they were, but not him, he was the only one able to see through her charming smiles and polite mannerism.

She clearly put some sort of spell on him too, since she realized her usual tricks aren't enough to fool him. That was why he couldn't get her out of his head, had to be, There was no other reason as to why he was constantly thinking about her, about her eyes and her laugh and her body and…

A sudden pain in his shin pulled him back to reality, where a very pissed off Sanji was glaring at him. "What the hell Ero-Cook?!"

"You weren't answering so I found another way to get your attention. Where the hell did you zone out to?" It wasn't like Zoro to suddenly just zone out like that and let his guard down enough for Sanji to land a kick. And while he'll never admit it, it made the vampire worried. "Hey Marimo, how about you tell me what's gotten into you for the past few days instead of staring off to space looking like a moron?"

"The hell are you talking about?! I'm fine, just tired"

"That's a pile of shit and we both know it, so stop making this harder for both of us and just tell me what's wrong?!"

"Why do you care anyway? Shouldn't you clean the damn basement like your beloved Nami-san told you or make your precious 'Robin-chwan' the coffee she likes?" His voice held more venom than he intended to and it wasn't until that moment that he realized how much the situation truly bothered him.

He was acting like Sanji, and that scared the crap out of him. For the last three days his world has been centered around a woman he didn't even know, while his friends, his family, treated her as if she were a part of their family. Was he jealous of her for being the center of attention of the people he cared for the most, or was he jealous of them for actually being able to talk to her and get to know her without feeling like shit?

Sanji, who finally seemed to get what the problem was, did one of the most unsanji things imaginable. He put his hand on Zoro's shoulder and walked him to the nearest stone bench, sitting down next to him. "Does Robin-chan's presence bother you that much?"

"Yes, no. I don't know. Maybe."

"That's not an answer shithead."

"No duh fuckboy."

They both couldn't help but chuckle.

"So let's pretend for a moment that the answer is yes, do you know why she bothers you that much?"

"I don't know! She's just there! Blending in with everyone like she's always been there, and I can't even be in the same room as her without feeling like shit."

"And why do you feel like shit?"

"Because."

"That's not a reason dumbass. Why does her presence make you feel like shit?"

"Because…"

"Because what?"

Was Sanji really going to force him to say that? "Because every time I see her I can't help but feel like a dick for what I did to her or resist the urge to throw her against a wall and have sex with her, which is fucking stupid because I don't even know her!"

Did he really just admit that? To Sanji of all people?!

Sanji, on his part, was quiet, thinking it over, until finally he said, "So, basically, you're in lust with her."

"In lust?"

"Yeah, like being in love, but without the love part, just the sexual attraction." That made sense, but for some reason Zoro just couldn't accept this explanation. "And how do I fall out of it?"

"Normally, just fuck it out of your system. But both you and I know it can't happen. The last thing poor Robin-chwan needs now is to have the mark of a werewolf. Tell you what, how about you actually try to get to know her? Robin-chan is a wonderful person, so maybe you'll get lucky and just accept her as family, like you and Nami-san."

"You're taking it better than I thought you would. Aren't you going to try to kick my head off for feeling this way towards your Robin-chwan?"

"I'd love to, but we both know nothing can come out of you feeling this way, same goes for me. And besides, I can relate."

"Thanks, Love-Cook."

"Any time, Marimo."

* * *

 **Platonic ZoSan is my shit. Same with any Robin/Nami interactions. And the straw hats being a family in general.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Shorter chapter this time around. Hopefully I'd be able to make up for it in the next one.**

* * *

"Oi, woman"

This was a terrible idea.

"Good evening Kenshi-san, how can I help you?"

He really shouldn't be doing this.

"Are you a witch?"

Yup, horrible idea.

What was even the point of coming here? The conversation he had with Sanji earlier helped clear his feelings towards her and pretty much confirmed that she wasn't a witch and it was all in his head. So why the hell was he confronting her about it?

She looked up from her book, clearly surprised by the question, and blinked a few times in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Now, are you a witch or not?" Way to go dumbass, go and be an ass to the person you're supposed to try and get along with. He mentally kicked himself.

"I'm sorry, but what exactly gave you the impression that I am a witch?"

"Just, I don't know! you're not normal okay?!"

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

"Look, I know you and I didn't start out on the best of term, and I want to, um, change that, you know? Since you're going to be living with us and all, and everything that happened to you is basically my fault." Great, so this woman made him horny _and_ flustered, fun-fucking-tastic.

Getting up from the arm chair she was sitting on, she made her way towards him until they were standing face to face, an unintentional reminder of how annoyingly tall she was.

Their shoulders almost touching, his hyper sensitive werewolf nose was easily able to pick up her flowery scent and in his attempt not to lean forward and bury his face in her hair he almost missed her question. "Are you still feeling guilty because of what happened?"

Breaking out of his trance, he looked up to meet her eyes almost to immediately look down again.

That was all answer Robin needed. Thinking back to her conversation with Nami and the younger woman's theory regarding the swordsman's behavior, Robin got the final conformation that Nami has indeed been correct. Placing her hands on either side of his face, she forced him to look up at her eyes again. "I told you, you have nothing to feel guilty about, what's done is done, and whatever happens, I won't regret it."

He wasn't sure if his cheeks felt as hot as they did because of her soft hands cupping them, or because he was blushing like crazy and the contact. Looking into her eyes, he knew she meant what she said. She didn't hold him responsible for her fate, in fact, she looked almost happy. Why was beyond him though. "So, you're saying you won't regret being stuck here with us for the rest of your life? Never being able to walk out in the open again?"

She released his face and let out a small laugh, which Zoro couldn't help but find adorable. "Of course not! Why wouldn't I want to spend the rest of my life with such a lovely bunch as yourselves?"

He chuckled as well, relieved with the change in atmosphere. "Maybe because we're a bunch of totally insane mythical creatures?"

"That's exactly why. Aren't you glad you get to spend your life surrounded by such wonderful people?"

All sarcasm fading away, he gave her a genuine, heart felt smile, without the slightest bit of awkwardness. "Yes, yes I do."

"Here is your answer then." She gave him her own heart felt smile, one that reached her eyes, and Zoro felt something weird gong on inside his chest.

Pushing aside the feeling, that was most definitely _not_ his heart skipping a beat, he tried to get back to his original objective, getting to know her better.

"So, do you like it here?" He gestured with his head towards the library's walls, just to make sure she understood he meant that particular room, and not the whole castle. "I do actually. Ever since I was a little girl, I always felt the most at home in libraries."

He could hear the melancholic undertone creeping into her voice again, and instantly felt guilty for making her sad. Trying to lighten up the mood, he said, "I'm not really a books person. I'd rather train my body instead of my brain."

"So I have noticed. Is there a particular reason as to why you train your body to the extremes you do?"

"There is actually. I'm going to one day fulfill a promise and become The World's Greatest Swordsman."

"The World's Greatest Swordsman? I believe that title is currently held by the man known as Dracule Mihawk."

"Yeah, that guy. One day I'll beat him and take his title."

She giggled. "I'll be there to cheer you on when the time comes then. Good night, Kenshi-san." She turned away from him towards the door, but before she left he called out to her.

"Zoro."

"Hmm?"

"Call me Zoro, woman."

"Very well then. Good night Zoro. My name is Nico Robin, by the way."

Looking at her diminishing form, he couldn't help but grin foolishly. Not only did he have an incredibly attractive woman formally introducing herself to him, said woman also promised to be there for him where he finally achieved his goal. Well, she didn't say that exactly, but she said she'd be there to cheer him on, and that was more than enough for him.

Most importantly though, he finally broke the ice.


	7. Chapter 7

A week has gone by and Zoro came to the conclusion that Robin was the ideal mother figure for their merry little gang.

She was calm, patient, nurturing, warm, supportive and had every other quality required to be a good mother. She was the female company Nami so desperately needed, a loving motherly figure for Chopper, and well an another intellectual mind for him to consult with, she could sit for hours listening to Usopp's ridiculous stories, even if she seemed to take pleasure in scaring the poor centaur, she was able to tolerate Luffy's hyperactive and over the top presence without losing her patience even once, and she even humored Sanji's disgusting advances, at least more than Nami did.

The only one that seemed to occasionally annoy her was Franky, and maybe Brook, whose requests to see her panties were always denied politely, but firmly. And although Franky seemed to mostly get on her nerves, he would sometimes walk in on the two of them deeply immersed in a conversation on who knows what, and he had to admit he felt something twist in his gut every time it happened.

She even went to the trouble of bringing him something to eat and drink if he spent an unhealthy amount of time in his gym, training without taking any breaks. When that happened she would berate him for doing so, but later she would take out a book she brought with her and sit on the gym's bench, providing him silent company while he trained. And even if it was just her nature and she didn't treat him any different from the others, it still made him feel all warm inside knowing that someone was watching out for him. Not that he felt particularly neglected beforehand, but still.

Robin, on her part, has been counting down the seconds until this wonderful dream's end with growing dread. It's been for than twenty years since she last felt truly happy, and she knew that like everything else good that happened in her life, the fun happy times would surely be short lived. In merely ten short days, this lovely gang of wonderful magical creatures have warmed their way into her heart and made her feel happier than she'd even been.

She was being selfish and childish and she knew it. Any adult, or any person really, in their right mind would have immediately escaped at the first opportunity given to them. Yet here she was, a thirty year old woman, indulging herself in some silly fantasy about werewolves and vampires and witches and a happy ever after like some delusional schoolgirl who didn't know any better. She was a grown adult, for crying out loud! She had responsibilities, not to mention she had a job she was unintentionally ditching. And speaking of her job, she was, simply put, absolutely horrible at it. She was supposed to be a teacher, yet she she didn't even bother to go back to the site of the incident to check if there were any survivors, nor did she run away to report about it. In fact, she apparently had the audacity to look after their murderer, bringing him food and water whenever he pushed himself too far. Some inspirational teacher she was.

Speaking of which, Roronoa Zoro has been nothing short of an enigma and she couldn't for the life of her figure out what was going through his head. One day he threatens her to stay away from him, and a few days after that he goes up to her and accuses her of being a witch with no explanation whatsoever only to do a complete one eighty and start casually talking to her a moment later.

Not that she minded his sudden change in attitude. Quite the contrary in fact. She's been delighted when he told her that he wanted to start over and 'officially' accepted her into the group, making her feel like she truly belonged, even if she knew that wasn't the case.

—

That damn Nami, was she switching around the rooms again?

The gym was in the basement, his room was on the second floor, it really wasn't that complicated, so why in the world couldn't he find his damn room?!

Opening a random door to his left, he found himself face to face with the massive bookshelves of the library? Wait, the library? wasn't it supposed to be on the third floor? Stupid Nami was messing with him again.

He was about to leave until he noticed the figure in the room.

Sitting on the coach was none other than Nico Robin, and she appeared to be sleeping. Her body was slightly bent to the side and her cheek pressed against the backrest, an open book in her lap. Silently, he walked towards the coach and sat down next to her, observing her face, noting how long her lashes were and the way her lips parted ever so slightly as she breathed.

Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, watching in slight amazement as it slid through his fingers like a river of silk. He did it again, only this time he brought his hand up to his face and inhaled, letting her flowery scent invade his nostrils and attack his senses, effectively shutting off his brain and any logical thought in the process.

Tucking her hair behind her ear, he allowed his fingers to run over her jawline all the way to her chin. Cupping her chin he gently tilted her head up toward his, letting his thumb graze over her luscious bottom lip. Slowly reducing the gap between them, one thought plagued his hazy mind. Sanji said that the best way to get rid of sexual attraction was fuck it out of your system right? In that case, all he had to do was lean forward just a little bit closer, just to make sure her lips felt as soft and as supple against his own as they did against his thumb. If he'll do that, than surely…

"Saul…"

His eye burst open at the sound of her voice. Looking at her face, he felt relief wash over him when he realized that she had been talking in her sleep. Unfortunately for him though, his calm was short lived though. Upon closer inspection, he could see what looked suspiciously like tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Saul, please… Don't leave…"

Hearing her words, Zoro felt fire erupting at the pit of his stomach. Who the was that Saul guy?! Was he her boyfriend? Husband? Ex? Whoever he was, he deserved a serious punch to the face for making her sad enough to cry over him in her sleep. The only thing Zoro knew was that regardless of who he was to Robin, he wasn't worthy of her. Anyone who would leave such a wonderful woman was a scumbag that didn't deserve her in the first place.

He got up and left the library, being mindful of the still sleeping figure inside he tried not to slam the door behind him. He was pissed.

What the fuck was wrong with him?! Here he was, sniffing her hair and trying to steal a kiss while she's asleep like some creepy pervert, even that damned Love-Cook wouldn't do something like that.

Not only that, but now he also wanted to go beat the crap out of some guy he didn't even know just because he her murmuring his name in her sleep.

And anyway, the whole point of getting to know her was supposed to help him get rid of his sexual attraction towards her. Instead of accepting her as simply just another part of the family though, he unconsciously started comparing her to a mother, and an ideal one at that.

So he spied on her while she slept, thought of her as the perfect mother figure and wanted to beat up a stranger for making her sad. What's next? Is he going to start having wet dreams about her or something?

He was so screwed.


	8. Chapter 8

**To MasterCool: Probably Nami. On another topic, thank you for sticking around! :)**

* * *

Zoro was acting childish and he knew it. Ever since the night in the library two days ago, every time he saw Robin he felt anger rising up inside him. She, of course, had no idea he saw her crying in her sleep and continued to act like she normally did, on the surface at least. Now that he saw her tears, whenever he looked at her he couldn't help but see the sadness that crept into her eyes if she was left alone for long enough.

She was being unreasonable, why couldn't she just talk to them if she was sad or stressed or whatever? If she was in pain, she should just say something, not keep it all bottled up until she could cry it off in her sleep! Didn't she know how worried she was making him?!

Of course she didn't, he was being a hypocrite. He had no right to criticize her for keeping secrets when he hadn't even tried confronting her about it. Not that he really could anyway. He could imagine the conversation: 'So I was watching you while you slept and sniffed your hair and tired to kiss you but then you started crying and say some asshole's name. By the way we're here for you and you should really learn to open up to us more'. Perfect.

He was so lost in thought he didn't realize someone was walking towards him until he bumped into that someone. "Oh, Zoro. Good evening"

Realized who the person he just bumped into was, he straightened up immediately, feeling his eyes heating up. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?"

"I am fine, thank you. What about you?"

"I'm good, thanks." Noticing the half open book she had in her hand, he realized in slight amusement how come she didn't notice him either. "Were you walking while reading?"

Robin let out an embarrassed chuckle. "You caught me. I'm actually on my to the library, I'm about to finish this book and it has a sequel. Would you like to come?" Zoro watched in slight awe at the way the raven haired woman's face lit up as she talked about the book. Was it really that good, or was it just her nerdy side taking over? whatever it was, it was adorable. "Sure, why not?" He answered, realizing he forgot to answer her question.

As they started walking, they fell into an either comfortable or awkward silence, depending on who's perspective. Making sure that she would walking to his right so he could watch her from the corner of his eye, Zoro felt incredibly awkward. He wanted to talk to her, to get her to open up to him, but he couldn't exactly tell her how he knew what he knew. Should he leave her alone and wait for her to come to him, or should he find some sort of cover story and confront her?

Robin on the other hand felt grateful for the silence. Not that she didn't like talking to Zoro, she quite enjoyed it in fact, but just having his surprisingly comfortable presence next to her was more than enough. Besides, he looked quite pensive about something and she didn't want to bother him more than she already did. She just asked him out of the blue if he wanted to come with her to the library, the man who didn't seem to have time for anything other than training. He probably only went with her to be polite, and Robin had a feeling it had something to do with the guilt he still might be feeling towards her. It hadn't escaped her attention that she was the only one he bothered to be polite with, and she couldn't deny that she was somewhat upset by that. Did he still feel uncomfortable around her, despite them growing closer in the past week?

They reached the library, and Robin, without wasting a second, went straight to the shelf where the next volume was supposed to be. Taking it to the coach with her, she gestured Zoro to come and sit next to her. Sitting down, he stole a glance in her direction before turning it to his hands in his lap. Robin could tell he was nervous about something. "Zoro, is everything alright?"

"Yes, umm… Listen, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"You're not in a relationship now right?"

"No. Why do you ask?" She asked, curious as to where his line of questions would go.

"Well, have… Have you ever been in love?" The question caught her off guard, and it showed. Clearly surprised, she blinked at him a few times. "Excuse me?"

"You know, have you ever fell in love with someone?" Taking a moment to think, she went through all the different relationships she had over the years before answering. "I have been in quite a few relationships, yes, but I've never been in love with any of the men I've been with."

"Then why have you been with them in the first place?" He had to admit he was afraid to hear the answer. Robin wasn't the type of person who would be with someone just for their body or money or something right? She couldn't be, she was far too kind to play with someone's emotions like that, right? "It was beneficial, I suppose. I needed protection, and they just so happen to provide it. Why to sudden interest though?"

"I was just wondering how being in love felt, is all." That wasn't a lie, he really did want to know how being in love felt, he needed to know, so he'd be able to classify his feeling for her, not that he'd tell her that. "Why ask me then? I'm sure Sanji would be able to provide you with all the information you'd ever want to know about love."

"If I ever ask the shitty cook about love I'll never stop hearing about it."

She giggled. "Then what about any of the others?"

"Luffy and Chopper wouldn't know what love is if it slapped them in the face. Usopp is only into women with four legs, so that's ain't happening. Nami would charge the crap out of me for that, and also for keeping quiet about it. Brook hasn't had any female company for the last fifty years or so, and Franky would just talk about men's dreams and being hard-boiled or whatever. So by process of elimination, you're the obvious choice. Besides…" He stopped. Should he really say that? "Besides what?"

Now she was curious. Not only did Zoro come to her with an extremely out of character question and was all of a sudden curious about her love life, he also seemed to have a specific reason for coming to her of all people.

"Beside, you just seem like you have, um, experience. Because you're really mature and stuff."

"Do I seem _experienced_ to you, Zoro?" There was definitely flirtatious tone to her voice, and the comment was clearly meant to be suggestive. Damn her! Seducing him like that. Still there was one question he just _had_ to know the answer to. "Actually, yes. Are you, um, you know?…"

"A virgin? No, I am not. Why the sudden interest?" Did he really just ask her whether she was a virgin or not? He had guts, she'd hand him that, but she couldn't for the life of her understand the way his mind worked or his motive for asking these questions.

Lucky fucking fuckers. If he ever found out who was her first, he was going to bit the everloving crap out of him. Not only was the son of a bitch the first person to have her, he also wasn't good enough for her to fall in love with him. Collecting himself, he gathered his courage for his next question. "Nothing, really. I was just wondering, were you in love with Saul?"

Zoro could pinpoint the exact moment when Robin froze. She stared at him, just stared, for a long period of time, an unreadable look in her eyes, before answering in a somewhat shaky voice. "Where did you hear that name? And what makes you think I was in love with him?"

That certainly wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Not that he expected her to blush and stutter or anything, but he at least expected her to react, not freeze like that. "I came in here one night and found you asleep on the coach, when I tried to wake you up you started crying and said something like 'Saul, please don't leave'."

That wasn't exactly a lie, he did come there one night and found her asleep on the coach, but waking her up was the last thing he wanted to do to her that moment. "I see. You don't have to worry about it, I'm fine."

"No, you're not! You can't expect me to find you crying in your sleep and believe that you're 'fine' and that it was nothing! You were _crying_ for fuck's sake! Damn it woman! You can't worry me like that and not even try to give me an excuse!" They both fell silent and just stared and each other. Damn it! he did mean to yell at her like that, or let her know just how worried he really was. Much more gently, he said; "Now tell me, who was Saul and why were you crying because of him."

Hesitating for a moment, she answered with a still slightly shaking voice. "Saul… Was a dear friend of mine when I was little, my only friend really, and I watched him die for my sake. I sometime have occurring nightmares of this day, that's all. You really don't have to-Zoro?!"

Without really thinking, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her protectively. "Why didn't you tell us? We would have never let you go through something like that alone if we knew. I understand not wanting to talk to me, but I'm sure Nami would be more than happy to lend you an ear and a shoulder to cry on. We're here for you, but you have to open up to us, so please, let us know if you're in pain." Pulling her closer, he leaned her forehead against his shoulder, feeling her relax into the embrace.

"Don't think for a moment that I don't want to talk to you, you are a wonderful man Zoro. Thank you." One of her hands wrapped around him, pulling them closer and the other one reached between them to grasp the front of his robes. Her voice was muffled against his shoulder, but he heard her loud and clear. She called him wonderful. She said he was a wonderful man and thanked him. Not only that but she was hugging him back. He was glad her ear was against his shoulder, otherwise she would have heard his heart rate quickening.

They stayed like that for a while before Zoro tried to pull away, only for Robin to tighten her grip on his robes. "Can we please stay like this? Just for a little longer?"

"S-sure, if you want." This was bad for his heart, but she needed him to be there for her and who knows, if she was able to open up to him like that now, maybe this won't be a one time thing.

Noticing her breathing has become much more even, he realized she fell asleep. Shit. What was he supposed to do? Wake her up? Not an option. She looked so relaxed like that, curled up against him. That was probably the most at peace he ever saw her, and who was he to take that away from her.

Left with no other choice, he picked up the sleeping woman in his arms and exited the library. As he walked, he couldn't help but think of how good she looked like that, in his arms with a peaceful look on her face, a small smile tugging an the edge of her ever so tempting lips.

Reaching her room with surprising ease, he used his forearm to open the door, closing it with his foot afterwards. Her room was simple but welcoming, which was to be expected considering she lived there for less than two weeks. Walking towards her bed and trying to lay her on it, he found himself facing a problem. her arm was still wrapped around his shoulders while her hand still held onto his robes with a death clutch. He gently tried to wriggle out of her hold, but she just tightened it, pulling herself even closer to him.

Dread filled Zoro when he realized what he had to do. Placing her on the bed, he laid down next to her. His whole body felt on fire and he was pretty sure it looked like it too.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

The first thing Robin felt when she woke up was the warm presence of another body next to hers. Slowly opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with a certain green haired swordsman, her arm around his shoulder and her hand clutching his robes.

Panicking she quickly let go of him and sat up, looking around her she released the breath she didn't realize she was holding. So they were in her room, sleeping on top of the covers, and fully clothed. Relief washed over her, along with something that disturbingly resembled disappointment.

Panicking again, she fought the sudden urge to bang her head against the wall. Disappointment? Why in the world would she feel disappointed? If anything, she thought as last night's events came back to her, she should be feeling grateful.

He almost gave her a heart attack when he mentioned Saul and started yelling at her when she tried to brush it off. But then he hugged her and tried to comfort her, even going as far as staying in that position per her request. Why did she do that again? The answer she came to scared her.

She felt safe with him.

This was ridiculous. Not only did she feel safe being around him, but she also felt disappointment when she realized nothing had happened between them. This wasn't like her, her sex drive wasn't particularly high, if she had any at all. Not that she hasn't felt physical attraction, in fact, she seemed to have some sort of weakness when it came to handsome men, a criteria Zoro definitely fitted into, she admitted somewhat reluctantly, but having sex was never really a priority, mostly duo to the fact that sex was only a tool for her. She only slept with someone because it was beneficial and her partners didn't seem to actually care about her reasoning. Of course, she wasn't particularly fond of any of the men she's been with, and none of them ever bothered to treat her too kindly either, they wanted her for her body and nothing more.

Actually, that wasn't entirely the case. The feeling of a cold, metallic hook caressing her skin came to her mind, and she couldn't help but shiver in disgust. In contrast, she suddenly felt a warm, comforting hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw Zoro looking at her with a concerned expression on his face. "You okay?"

She smiled sincerely at him. "I'm fine, but thank you for your concern."

"Any time."

Getting off her bed she made her way to her closet, pulling out some of the new clothes Nami has bought for her. Looking at the sitting figure on her bed, an idea came to her mind. Slowly, with her back facing him, she reached out to the zipper of her jacket and started pulling in down slowly, slipping the leathery material off her shoulders to her elbows.

Zoro was no longer sitting on the bed but rather standing next to it, an expression of absolute terror on his face. "W-what are you doing?!"

Looking back at him, she gave him a sultry smile before fixing her jacket and zipping it up, still leaving a large portion of her cleavage visible. "You seemed to be rather comfortable in your position on my bed, I thought you might want to stay and watch me dress."

Was she flirting with him? She did it last night too and both of them wondered, what the hell was going through her head?!

"D-don't be stupid! Just ask me to wait outside next time!" Leaving her room and slamming the door behind him, he leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. She was trying to kill him! That damn woman was most definitely trying to kill him. What was wrong with her?! Didn't she know how badly he wanted her?! Why would she strip with him in the room?! Did she want him to see her naked, was she perhaps trying to hint him something? It was bad enough that he had to spent an entire night in her bed next to her undoubtably soft body, not being able to get an eye shut.

Not that he tired anything, he wouldn't dare. He was there because she needed him, not because of his own selfish urges. He would die before taking advantage of the situation, so he kept his hands -and lips!- to himself and settled for just looking, his eye hungrily drinking in her delicious curves.

The door to her room opened and she walked out, wearing an extremely revealing black dress with high heeled black boots. She offered him a smile, walking towards him.

"Shall we go then?" she asked, referring to breakfast. He nodded.

"And Zoro?" She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek, "Thank you"

She started walking towards the dining hall, leaving behind a dumbfounded, red faced Zoro behind her, his fingertip touching his cheek.

So her lips really were that soft.


	9. Chapter 9

**Holy shit it's been awhile. To the people who were waiting for this chapter, I'm SO sorry it took me so long.**

* * *

Nami really hated him didn't she?

His day started so nice too, getting to sleep in Robin's bed next to her and having her flirt with him at least three times in less than twenty four hours. That's how he interpreted her actions anyway. She kissed him on the cheek, striped with him in the room, and acted all coy and suggestive. That counts as flirting, right?

Putting Robin aside, he went back to cursing Nami in his head. The moment he walked into the dining hall with a goofy grin on his face, Nami happily announced that they're having a beach day, just for fun. By beach day she meant that they're having a party in the pool room, a room that existed for the sole purpose of making them feel less trapped.

Luffy, of course, was all about it, jumping at the first opportunity to party, nagging Sanji to cook more food, specifically meat, only to get kicked in the face by the furious cook, who angrily declared he only takes requests from the ladies.

Speaking of the ladies, he was almost one hundred percent sure the only reason Nami wanted a beach day was so she'd have an excuse to wear a bikini, not that she needed one. And that's where his problem lied, he couldn't care less about what Nami was doing and what she was wearing, but she wasn't the only female member of their gang anymore.

Nico Robin was currently sitting in a lawn chair by the poolside, an open book in her lap as she watched the others play in the water with a fondness in her eyes that, in Zoro's humble opinion, somehow made them even more beautiful. Also, she was wearing a bikini.

Not that he complained, most definitely not, the problem was that Sanji wasn't complaining either. In fact, he seemed even more eager that usual to shower the raven-haired woman with affection, much to Zoro's annoyance.

It took about fifteen minutes of staring daggers at Sanji's back for the cook the leave, presumably to go bring more drinks for the ladies. Getting up from his position against the wall on the other side of the room Zoro made his way toward where she was sitting, watching the others play in the water with amusement.

"Why don't you join them?" he asked when he reached her. She turned her gaze away from the pool and looked up at him, somewhat sadly he noted. "I can't swim I'm afraid."

"Then why don't you just use a floating device like Luffy Chopper and Brook?"

"I was never really fond of them. Every time I tried to use one it ended in a disaster." Despite his better judgement, Zoro was unable to contain his laughter. "What did you do? Brought a book with you and it got wet?"

She gave him a half hearted glare and he felt instant regret. "No, nothing like that. I never learned how to swim and at some point in my life developed a fear of drowning, so every time I try to use a floating device I panic."

Oh, that made sense. Now he felt really guilty for laughing. Suddenly, an idea came to his head. Turning his back to her, he lowered himself on one knee and pointed at his back. "Get on."

She blinked a few times, like she usually did when she was confused. Why did he know that? That wasn't relevant right now. "I'm gonna give you a piggyback ride so you don't need to use a floating device."

"Zoro, I really don't think this is a good idea…"

"I won't drop you, or let you drown, so just get on already." Hesitantly, she got up from the lawn chair, leaving her book behind. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he rose up, hooking his own arms behind her knees. When he made sure she was secured he started walking towards the pool. As he reached the stairs leading to the water, he felt her grip on his shoulders tighten as she pressed herself closer against him, ignorant to how he was becoming progressively flustered as he felt her breasts pressing against his back. Shit! Why didn't he think of that?! Well, it seemed like such a good idea when he came up with it, and she really did look like she wanted to join everyone. "Relax. I said I won't drop you, so don't worry."

Forcing her muscles to relax, she tried breathing in and out as she felt the lukewarm water touch her toes. Instead, she chose to focus on the muscular back of the peculiar young man in front of her. Zoro was there, he won't let her drown. Here he was again, making her feel safe, banishing her inner demons just by being thoughtful. he was so sweet too, offering to give her a piggyback ride when he noticed her unspoken desire to join the rest of their friends. He was so cruel though, making her long for things she could never have, things she didn't deserve. She hugged him tighter and rested her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to selfishly enjoy his warm back and comforting presence. "Robin? Are you okay?"

Lifting her head from his shoulder, she tried giving him a convincing smile. "I'm fine, you shouldn't-"

"-ZOOOROOO! ROOOBINNN!" Yelled Luffy from the other side of the pool, effectively ruining the mood and ending the conversation before Zoro could call her out on her bullshit. Something was clearly bothering her and she was keeping quiet again.

Zoro grunted in fake annoyance as Luffy, Chopper and Brook made their way toward them on their floating train thingy, being dragged by Usopp and Franky. Zoro continued to move forward in their direction, the water reaching to the middle of his torso and Robin's knees. She clung to him tighter, her nails digging into his flesh in an almost painful way. Her eyes were tightly shut and she was biting her bottom lip, something Zoro would have found incredibly sexy if it was wasn't for the current circumstances. "You don't have to force yourself, say the word and I'll take you back to your chair."

She opened her eyes and shook her head lightly. "No, it's okay. I can handle it."

Zoro hummed in understanding as he progressed deeper into the water, walking toward their friends. Finally they reached the others. Luffy jumped off the inflatable train and onto Franky's shoulder. "Zorooo! That not fair! You never give me a piggyback ride when I ask!"

Ignoring the boy's whining, he turned his head to look at Robin. "You okay?"

They were neck deep into the water but she looked relatively calm. Smiling at him, she nodded. "I'm good, thank you."

"Robin!" Called Nami, waving happily at them from the other side of the pool, gesturing for him to come closer.

"OI MARIMO! WHO SAID YOU CAN CARRY ROBIN-CHAN ON YOUR BACK YOU BASTARD?!" Well, shit, Sanji was back.

'She wanted to join the fun, so I helped her! Got a problem?!" And so they started their usual routine of bickering and insults, and Robin couldn't help but laugh at their antics. Looking around her, she saw Luffy trying to drown Usopp, not that she knew how you drown a centaur, while Chopper and Brook held onto each other for dear life, Franky laughing like a maniac and Nami sighing in frustration. Watching them being so happy and carefree made Robin realize just how attached she had gotten to them. It wasn't just Zoro, being around them made her happy, they made her feel like she belongs, that it's okay for her to be herself, almost like she had a family.

* * *

The beach day went better than he expected it to. He had fun, and once he got over Robin's lack of proper clothing he was able to really enjoy her company. Plus he got to bond with her more, so that's good, or bad, depending on how you look at it. The more time he spent with her, the more the aching in his chest increased.

And it wasn't just his heart rate that increased around her, his self-awareness did too. He cared about her opinion and what she thought of him, something that never happened to him before. He usually couldn't care less about how people viewed him, but he really tried to be at his best when she was around. He wanted to impress her and for her to think highly of him and it scared the shit out of him. His infatuation with her was quickly becoming an obsession and he had no idea how he was supposed to deal with that. He could try talking to Sanji again, but he really didn't feel like it. The perverted kappa would probably just tell him to keep his distance and not get too carried away or some other bullshit. The thing is, he really didn't want to keep his distance from her. He loved being around her, way more than he'd like to admit, and he wanted to make her happy, like he did today in the pool.

Switching he weight in his right hand to the left he tried to focus on his training instead when suddenly, he felt something. A presence, and a strong one at that, was making it's way towards the castle. It felt oddly familiar too for some reason, but that wasn't what was important at the moment. He dropped his weight and bolted out of the gym without even putting on his shirt and started running up the stairs towards the double oak doors. On his way he met up with Luffy, Sanji, Franky and brook, confirming his suspicions that something was up.

"Feels like a werewolf to me, don't you think Marimo?" Asked Sanji. Exchanging a look with the blonde vampire, Zoro nodded. "Feels kind of familiar too"

"Familiar? How so?" Chimed in Brook, looking between the werewolf and the vampire questionably. "Dunno, it just does."

"Might just be your werewolf instinct" Suggested Franky.

"Could be. By the way, where are the others?"

"The girls are with Usopp and Chopper in the kitchen, I told them to stay there until we figure out what's going on."

As soon as they reached doors the presence, that was much much closer now, started frantically knocking on the door. Alarmed, they all went into battle stances while Luffy stepped forward signaling them to hold off.

When he opened the door, the last thing they expected to see was a bruised, bleeding man that collapsed face first onto the floor as soon as Luffy opened the door.

"Oi! Who're you?! Are you okay?! Brook! Go call Chopper!" Yelled Luffy as he got down on his knees in front of the man and started shaking him violently.

"Roger that! Yohohohoho!"

"Luffy! Stop shaking him before you kill him!" said Sanji. He pushed Luffy away from the injured man and sat down beside him on the floor.

The man, his breathing heavy and ragged, lifted his head off the floor with clear difficulty, his dark onyx eyes looking around him until they fell on luffy. "Are you… Straw Hat Luffy…?"

"Yeah, That's me. Who're-"

"Luffy! What's going on?! Where's the guy?!" Seems like Brook was back with Chopper in toe, that was quick. Tearing his eye away from the vaguely familiar man, Zoro saw Nami, Usopp and Robin along with Chopper and brook.

"Over here! Chopper!" Speeding away in his walk-point towards the half-dead man. Changing into heavy-point he carefully picked him up, mindful of his injuries. Suddenly, a feminine, surprised gasp came from the raven-haired woman behind him. Turning around to look at her, Zoro was surprised to see her out of character shocked expression, her hand covering her mouth and her eyes wide.

"Trao-kun…" Seemingly regaining her senses, she pushed past him and ran toward Chopper and grasped the man's hand. "Trao-kun! Stay with me!"

Hearing Robin's panicked voice, the man, or 'Trao' as she called him, groggily opened in eyes, his expression of surprise similar to her own, only twisted in pain. "Nico-ya… You're alive…"

Nico-ya? This guy whoever he is has a nickname for her? Actually, didn't she add -kun to his name as well? Just how close are these two? And why does he care so much? Now's not the time to be petty, the guy looks like he could die any second and here he was, pondering the relationship of a half dead man and the woman he can't stop thinking about.

As he watched Chopper carry the guy to the infirmary with Robin and everyone else in toe, Zoro couldn't help but feel dread wash over him.

* * *

 **Not sure how I feel about the ending. Also, I noticed some mistakes in previous chapters, so sorry about those. I'll go back and fix them eventually.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'M ALIVE! Sort of anyway. I planned for this chapter to be a lot longer, but I'm tired and I kept you waiting for long enough.**

* * *

Zoro wasn't jealous. Not at all. He was just a little angry, that's all. He just hated seeing the scared, worried look on Robin's face while she watched Chopper tending the half-dead man's wounds.

The man's name was apparently Trafalgar Law, and the reason his presence felt so familiar was because he was one of Robin's colleagues and one of the people that tried to stop him from blindly killing students. Zoro's memories from the incident were for the most part pretty hazy, but he could somewhat recall seeing the man aiming a knife at him. He didn't remember what happened afterwards, but there was no way these wounds could have been inflicted by him. No one, no matter how strong, could survive with wounds that deep for as long as what, two weeks? Which means whoever it was that gave Law his wounds, it certainly wasn't Zoro, otherwise he should have died from blood loss a while ago. If Zoro wasn't the selfish prick that he was, he may have cared more about the man's state instead of wanting him dead for making Robin sad.

Not that it was that bad, because really, it wasn't. Zoro didn't really want the guy to die, because that would make Robin even sadder, but he did feel like laying a few scratches himself on Law for steering Robin's attention away from Zoro to himself. It just wasn't fair. what did this guy do to make Robin care so much about him anyway?! Zoro felt a sudden urge to hit himself. Of course she cared about him, she was Robin! The most wonderful, thoughtful person he knew. And they were colleagues, so it made sense for her to worry about him.

Still. that wasn't fair. Even if she was worried, Robin didn't _have_ to sit to him and squeeze his hand while Chopper patched him up. Despite himself, Zoro couldn't help but wonder how she would react if something like that ever happened to him.

Law stirred, slowly regaining conscious. Relief washed over the infirmary's occupiers save for the green-haired swordsman who just looked away in annoyance. The whole situation reminded him too much of the night Robin joined them, and just how much he despised her in the beginning. That happened less than a month ago and his feeling for her couldn't be any more different. Who knows, maybe he'll even grow infatuated with the black-haired man as well and the three of them could have a threesome. He almost laughed at loud at the thought, mostly because it implied he'd let the other man anywhere near the raven-haired beauty. If he would ever be lucky enough to get into bed with her, there'd be no way in hell he'd share.

Despite Chopper's loud protests Law tried to sit up, although with some difficulty, he eventually succeeded. Robin's face lit up in that special way it did when she was talking about books and old stuff or when she was happy, and enthusiastically yet carefully she wrapped her arms around Law in a tight hug that he returned.

Zoro's eye almost bugged out of his eye-socket and his blood and guts burned with toxic fire. Sure, he was annoyed with seeing her doting over Law, but seeing her in someone else's arms made him feel like never before. What was wrong with him?! He had no real reason to feel this way, at all. He didn't even know the guy but the hatred he felt towards him was blinding to the point it awakened a killing intent worse than anything he ever felt in his werewolf form.

Knowing he couldn't stay in the room any longer he detached his back from the wall and left the infirmary, feeling the curious gaze of nine pairs of eyes on him as he slammed the door shut with a little to much force.

Without really thinking about it he dashed to the basement and started pumping his heaviest weights with all his might.

Nothing was making any damn sense ever since that damned woman entered his damned life and turned goddamn everything upside down.

He shouldn't care. He never did. Women were nothing special, always were and always will be. Men too for that matter. Everyone coexisted together in his mind as equals. The only ones that truly mattered were his friends and Hawkeye. Everyone else were just there, he didn't care about them and they didn't care about him. But then again Robin wasn't just anyone, she was one of them now, one of his friends.

Friend.

Labelling her as his friend almost made him throw up. It just felt so wrong calling her that. You don't try to kiss your friend in their sleep or sniff their hair or admire their body or think about them every single minute of the day. Your friends aren't supposed to make your heart beat faster every time they smile at you. Your friend aren't supposed to make you fantasize about the softness of their skin and how your intertwined fingers would feel. And most importantly, your friends aren't supposed to make you want to kill someone over an innocent hug.

This wasn't him, couldn't be. Maybe she really was a witch after all. No, she was probably a succubus, if she was, then everything would make since. Yeah, that was it, she was a succubus waiting for her chance to have her way with him and devour him in his sleep. He could actually see it if he closed his eye. Her sexy body hovering over him, pitch black hair falling around them, her blue eyes glazed with lust, looking down at him seductively, tongue licking her red lips, tempting him, sucking his soul into her as she-

"Zoro-san?"

And just like that, the vision has shattered and he turned around to face Brook. Even without any facial features, Zoro could tell the skeleton was giving him a worried look. He felt a little irritated, but more so with himself than with Brook's display of concern, He did storm out of the infirmary with no explanation whatsoever after all, it made sense for them to worry. He mentally smacked himself for making them worried. "Is everything alright Zoro-san? You seem agitated."

"I'm fine Brook, really. It's nothing." So now he was lying through his teeth to his friends about being okay, he spent too much time around that damned woman. "If may be rude Zoro-san, you don't look fine to me. It's unusual for you to lose your cool like that, and your face is red."

Well, shit.

He figured Brook would catch onto his lie, he wasn't really trying to hide it. But he really did have bad timing, showing up during Zoro's unintended fantasy. "Like I said, it's nothing". His tone carried a warning, which brook seemed to ignore. "It doesn't seem like nothing to me, and it certainly didn't seem like nothing to Robin-san".

His ears perked up. "Robin? Why?" The threat in his all but vanished, replaced with urgent curiosity and uncharacteristic gentleness when he spoke the older woman's name.

Brook signed. "I knew it. Zoro-san, does your sudden behavior has something to do with how close Law-san is to Robin-san?"

Zoro felt his face redden even further, his anger rising again. "What?! No! Why should I care how close the damned woman is to that bastard?!"

Brook gave him what could only be a skeptic stare, if he had eyebrows one would definitely be raised. "Bastard? Do you know each other that you call him by such name?"

"No I… I just don't like him okay? No reason why, I just, don't." Zoro looked down, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. His voice much less aggressive and much less defiant than anything Brook ever heard it, almost as if he's ashamed or embarrassed.

Realizing that aggravating the young man further won't get him anywhere, Brook decided to stop beating around the bush and ask directly. "Zoro-san, do you, perhaps, have feelings for Robin-san?"

Brook watched in slight amazement as Zoro's face almost literally lit on face. The young swordsman stubbornly refused to look at him, much more interested at staring at his shoes instead. "I… I don't know…" His voice was so weak Brook almost missed it. But the quiet, almost shy answer was all he needed.

Walking over to Zoro, he gently placed his boney hand on the greed-haired man's shoulder, guiding him to the nearest bench. The two of them sat down, with Zoro still refusing to look at him. Brook decided it was time to put on his supportive adult hat. "Then why don't you tell me how you feel around her, and I will try to explain to you the nature of your feelings?" Zoro nodded slowly, a feeling of nausea taking over him. He took a deep breath, accepting it was time for him to face his feelings.

"I, I don't know… I guess… I want her attention, like, all the time. I want to spend time with her and impress her and be there for her. I want her to come to me when she's sad and comfort her until she's better. I also really hate to see her sad, and it drives me crazy to know she's dealing with things alone when she can just come to me. And she's really, really, really pretty Brook, and I have no idea how to deal with it. She's so fucking hot, and it's making me feel… weird. I can't be around her without thinking what a nice ass she has, or how soft her breasts look and I feel like you and Love-Cook and it freaks me out because she's so much more than ass and tits and I feel like a sleazy pervert that only wants her for her body. And it used to be kind of true and that's even worse. And I can't help but think she'd make a great mother because of how kind and thoughtful and patient and caring she is… And her smile, her fucking smile makes me feel so fucking dizzy… And she's sort of kind of perfect… And I absolutely can't stand the thought of someone else touching her, or looking at her, or even thinking about her and I feel like killing Law because he's so close to her…"

Zoro hung his head in same, his face hotter than ever before as his words rang in the air around them. He realized how stupid he must have sounded. He felt like an asshole too, nothing of what he said suggested he saw her as a person and not an object or something.

He wanted Brook to say something, anything. He needed someone to tell him what was wrong with him that made him act like that. But Brook stayed quiet, and it dawned on Zoro that he just blabbered on without making much sense. "That was really messy huh?"

"Not at all. I understand everything now."

"Care to share?"

Brook looked at him for a moment, his hand coming to rest on top of Zoro's head. "I believe, Zoro-san, that you are in love."

He waited for his words to sink in, watching Zoro's expression change from confusion to one of pure horror. His face reached the point it couldn't get any hotter without his head exploding, so the blush started making it's way down his neck. He threw his head back against the stone wall violently and buried his face in his hands. A stream of unidentifiable words coming from his mouth.

Zoro could hear his heart hammering in his ears, his face hot against his palms. He took deep breaths in a futile attempt to calm himself down. The one thing he hoped wasn't true ended up being true. Him and his stupid fucking luck. He thought back to his conversation with Robin the night before. He gave her a reason as to why he didn't go to Brook for advice, yet he was able to read him so easily. And if Brook could, the others could too. Robin included.

He was so, so fucked.

* * *

 **Brook is love, Brook is life.**


End file.
